The American Medical Association (AMA), in partnership with the professional services firm Manatt Health, published a framework this week aimed at examining the benefits generated by virtual care. According to the organizations, the Return on Health initiative is aimed at understanding the value of digitally enabled care beyond dollars and cents alone. Stakeholders and decision-makers have held a magnifying glass up to the value of virtual care, and especially telehealth, as they continue to weigh regulations around its future. This new framework stresses the importance of looking beyond monetary returns on investment. Instead, it describes six distinct value streams:
- Clinical outcomes, quality and safety
- Access to care
- Patient and family experience
- Clinician experience
- Financial and operational impact
- Health equity
The authors note that several environmental variables can impact those value streams, including type of practice, payment arrangement, patient population, clinical use case and virtual care modality.